So I was reading IWTBF today, and saw the post about Movers and Shakers (which I know I'll never be because I don't like to move and I never shake). For some reason, I clicked through to the list, to see who some of these M&Ss have been. One of the names is Gene Ambaum, the, um, "anonymous" (or, for those of you not so sloppy in your use of language, pseudonymous) co-author of Unshelved. Funny how I never see anyone protesting about the "anonymous" writer of Unshelved. No, that "anonymity" never seems to bother anyone. Very curious, indeed, since librarians have been carping for a long time that it's the so-called "anonymity" of the AL that bothers them so much. Uh huh. ... Read More >>

The LJ 2008 Placements & Salary Survey is out. Read all about it ! I don't think I've ever seen it before, but for some strange reason I'm noticing the Library Journal more than I used to. Not sure what's up with that. I'll have to start scanning it to find stuff to be annoyed about.
Regarding the salary survey, I'm not particularly annoyed, just puzzled. Why does anyone go to library school? The "good news" is that the average starting salary for new library school graduates has risen to $42,361. That's not too shabby considering one only needs a college degree plus a "graduate" degree. No, wait, I take that back. That is pretty shabby, especially when you consider some of these "new" librarians are moving to librarianship because they've already failed in some other career, er, I mean they've decided that librarianship is a much more rewarding field than whatever rewarding field they left. Librarianship does seem to be the field, though, for those ... Read More >>

An enterprising and enthusiastic librarian out there has proposed that today be considered "Work Like a Patron" day (found via the ever earnest Webtamer).
"I’m proposing “Work Like A Patron Day” on October 15th. In honor of the day, I think library staff should (when possible):
enter and leave the library through the public entrance (not the staff doors)
use the public restrooms
use the public computers to do your work
reserve public meeting rooms for meetings
follow all library policies"
This sounded like a fun learning experience to me, and I'm sure you can all imagine how much I love fun. That's why I'm a librarian!
So I could write about this for today, I've already tried the experiment and I'm ready to report my results.
First, in order to really work like a patron, one has to become the patron. It's not enough just to use the public loo, one really has to inhabit the character to gain the full benefit of the ... Read More >>

A kind reader sent this to me. McCain held a rally in Minnesota apparently dominated by ignorant barbarians. I thought after they elected that professional wrestler to be their governor the ignorant barbarians in Minnesota climbed back into their caves and resumed their primary activities, which include grunting and gnawing on raw goat flesh. Apparently, they've emerged and are now supporting McCain. The link is to an interview with a woman named Gayle Quinnell who told McCain at a rally that Obama was an Arab. McCain took the microphone away from her, shook his head, and said, "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man, citizen...." The news site says McCain "quickly corrects" her, implying that no Arabs are decent family men or citizens. I thought this was hilarious before finding out she might have said "Arab terrorist." Oh well.
McCain didn't want to give her any forum for her crazy views and in fact seems a bit puzzled these days that his campaign is ... Read More >>

As we all know, there are library jobs that suck and library jobs that don't quite suck. When you've been offered a job, the important thing is figuring out which category it falls into, unless of course you're absolutely desperate and your only other option is slowly eating yourself to death with generous helpings of chocolate and Twinkies, which seems to be the librarian's preferred way to go.
But how can you know which category your proffered job is in? You certainly can't trust the people interviewing you. If the job sucks, they won't tell you the truth. If the decent folks tell you the truth, they know the bad big boss will terrorize and humiliate them the next day. So they smile their desperate smiles and cringe when you ask the hard questions. It's all so sad. Oh, I suppose if you are perceptive enough, you can understand how much the job sucks by reading the fearful expressions on people's faces or between the lines of people's questions. "What are you looking for in a ... Read More >>